My wife and I are excitedly planning our forty-fourth wedding anniversary celebration. We’re deciding which restaurant we want to order our take-out meal from.
We’re getting good at celebrating special occasions without exposing her to a load of communicable diseases. For Mother’s Day I went to Applebee’s, mostly because it is the closest restaurant to our house. I also had to pick up the take-out for Father’s Day at Applebee’s, again because it’s nearby. Ten minutes there and ten minutes back, and we can start eating. Our son will have the day of our anniversary off from work so he will be available to drive further away for the food, maybe a Red Lobster or Chili’s.
I know you’re thinking we’re getting overly giddy about take-out food. Normally we would agree. Actually entering a nicely decorated building and having the possibility of ordering a tasty margarita was half the fun.
But these are not normal times. Chemotherapy has weakened my wife’s immune system so much that going out is not worth the risks. She’s already been placed in isolation at the hospital to avoid infections so we know we don’t want her to suffer through that experience again. She overheard one patient in the chemotherapy room say they were going on a cruise before the next session. Cruises are fun but well known for possible exposure to all sorts of nasty little bugs.
We take our pleasure where we can find it and are grateful for each bite of food which comes from a Styrofoam box.